The invention is directed generally to a method and apparatus for gripping and handling articles and, more particularly, for a pick and place electrical component handling operation in which odd shaped components may selectively be gripped by engaging the inner or outer surfaces thereof.
It is an object of the instant invention to provide a method and apparatus for grasping and handling components which are not easily grasped by a vacuum spindle.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide for gripping of components on an inside or outisde surface by means of fingers which are cammed via cam followers into positive gripping engagement with the surface, with disengagement of the fingers from the surface being controlled by the cam and followers spring biased into engagement therewith; or, alternatively, to provide that the gripping fingers may have spring biased engagement with the work surface so as to prevent destructive gripping thereof, with positive disengagement from the surface being provided by camming action.
Still further, it is an object of the invention to provide true parallel and level movement of paired tooling so as to avoid the problems inherent in arcuate tool movements.
In a prefered embodiment of the invention, a depending pair of fingers may be caused to grip a component on an inside surface by spreading the fingers apart, or to grip the outside surface of a component by closing the fingers upon the component, with the relative orientation of the gripping faces of the fingers depending upon sliding displacement of the tool posts supporting the fingers. Each tool post is mounted upon a corresponding one of a pair of parallel slides which, in turn, have cam followers attached thereto. By means of a tension spring, the cam followers are urged into engagement with corresponding angled faced of a wedge cam which is reciprocateable between the followres by means of an actuating cylinder. The displacement of the cam, and consequent spreading and closing of the followers as they follow the corresponding surfaces of the cam, controls the selection of inside or outside gripping, as exemplified by engaging faces of the fingers being directed toward each other or away from each other during the gripping. The preferred structural arrangement of such a device provides both inside and outside gripping engagement of the fingers by positive displacement and spreading of the followers when the cam is moved in one direction, and disengagement when the cam is moved in an opposite direction.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.